thearena | (no subject)

WHO| Julian, open to anyone in the area--and dinosaurs.
WHAT| An inglorious ending.
WHEN| Early week 8
WHERE| The jungle surrounding the Compound
WARNINGS| Death. Lots of blood. The usual.

The week had taken its toll on Julian--more psychologically than physically, even though he hadn't been able to find anything to sustain him but water. He could go two days without significant sleep, weeks without food, less so without water but he'd located enough of that to keep him going for now.

The problem with walking into this mess so late was that of the people left, they were desperate, starving, and hurting and very much not amicable to polite conversation. And as the days dragged on, the roving packs of carnivorous dinosaurs got bolder--more desperate as well. Julian had traveled as quickly and as quietly as possible, avoiding both people and animals, until he reached a central building on the far end of the island--he hadn't even realized this sort of building would be there.

Quietly, Julian approached the building's front, keeping to the tree line and an ear out for anything approaching.

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Soft, yes--but not silent, and Julian's senses are so much keener. Up close like this, there was no way he couldn't notice.

Another disadvantage to his late coming--he had no weapons. Absolutely nothing but the clothing on his back, really, which was made obvious when he raised his hands, turned to face whoever it was that had fallen.

"I'm not going to hurt you." So if you want to hurt him, please, just get it over with.

She let her hand drop. This late in the game, she wasn't too worried about trusting the wrong person. A death by human hands was much more likely to be quick and repairable, as far as she saw it, and she knew there was no chance she was going to win this again. Snow wouldn't allow it.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked, tilting her head towards the building in front of them. She moved forward, studying the man. Someone she hadn't seen before, older. Stopping several feet away, she looked past him, to the building.

Relieved, Julian dropped his hands to his side. Didn't seem like he was going to get shot in the immediate future, which was fine by him.

"Absolutely no idea, I'm afraid." He's just as lost as she is. Well, that was unfair--he was far more lost than she.

"Well, let's find out."

She approached the building, glancing over her shoulder to see if Julian was going to follow. Whatever was in there, hopefully it would be edible. If she hadn't already decided to trust him, the knot in her stomach would have pushed her forward already.

"I'm Katniss, by the way."

"Julian," he offers as he follows her, keeping yet aware of the forest around them, which seems to be the most likely to hold something dangerous.

"Sort of new to all this, if you were wondering." She looks, despite her youth--he guesses she's about half his age--like someone who knew what was going on. A fact which made his heart clench. He knew what this was, after all--Garrus had told him as much. Forcing adults and soldiers to fight was one thing.

"I didn't recognize you." She said, and then realizing how brisk that sounded, she offered what she hoped was a softer smile. "Sorry you're caught up in this. I'm actually a mentor. Though, a tribute right now, I guess."

They had been told to act enthusiastic about the opportunity to compete again. But Katniss was running out of energy to pretend. Pushing against the door, she let out a breath as it gave open easily, and paused to let her eyes adjust to the dark before stepping in.

Just in time to miss the rustling in the woods behind them.

Julian offers a smile in response--it's understandable that tempers are going to run high in situations like this, he isn't surprised by the shortness of her tone. Certainly isn't offended by it, he's just grateful she put the bow down.

"It's hardly your fault. Though yes, I would rather meet new people under better circumstances."

Julian was doing slightly better--advantage of genetics, and his shorter time here--but he was still feeling weary, hungry, and very much not appreciating the trek through the forest. He turns, backing towards the door when he thinks he hears something behind them, but the sound doesn't repeat itself and his eyes see nothing.

"Well, once we're out of here, things can be a little more..." She trails off as her eyes adjust and she can actually take in what they've found.

The interior is absolutely piled with food, and Katniss' stomach growl audibly as she take it all in. It is hard to fight the urge to rip into everything and just stuff herself, with the hunger gnawing away and her body quickly catching on that there is a solution here.

But she doesn't trust this, so late in the game.

Moving carefully, she checks for bombs, trip wires, any sort of trick to this whole thing, before carefully lifting and apple up and sniffing it.

Obviously, she already knew to be careful, he didn't need to warn her again--but he did so anyway. "Everything else has been unsuitable for consumption--careful." If he'd had a tricorder, he could scan it and see for certain--he hadn't been able to smell or taste any difference when he tested small amounts of other things that he'd thought wouldn't be poisonous--even with his enhanced senses. "It may not smell any different. Or even taste any different."

A full, proper test would take hours. Most of the day, in fact. He was fairly sure he could manage doing so, Katniss had been without food longer than him and he did have certain other advantages, not in the least being trained in what effects exactly poison had on the human body. He'd presumably be able to recognize the symptoms much faster in himself.

Edited (hi i can type good today) 2014-01-05 20:20 (UTC)

"I guess we just...eat a little and pray." She said softly. Poison wouldn't be a fun way to go out, but it was actually far less worrisome thant a lot of other options.

"One thing at a time? If it kills one of us, we know it's out."

Not a perfect experiment, but what other options did they have? As unpleasant as death by poison would be, it'd be far faster than death by starvation.

"There are ways to test food for poisons. It involves waiting, to see what affects you." He's reluctant to let her just start eating things--not because he wanted it for himself, but because he didn't want to watch her die.

"At least try touching it to your skin and lips first. If you notice any tingling or burning, we can eliminate it straight off. I can't say whether I'll show signs of any poison affecting me until too late and you've already deemed it safe, if we go by simply ingesting it and hoping for the best."

The unpredictability of enhanced genetics--Julian of course hadn't ever experimented with feeding himself poison to see how he reacted.

She nodded. He was right, it's what she would do in the woods. And she couldn't exactly be obvious about being ready to die by poison.

That might be a little too close to comfort for those watching at home.

Picking her way through the food, she avoided that at the front, before picking a small can from the bottom of a pile and peeling it open. "Here goes nothing..."

Dabbing her finger into the paste inside, she was about to smear it on her lips when she heard an awful scraping sound from the outside of the building.

"...the hell?" Dropping the can, she didn't worry too much about it splattering-there was plenty more where it came from-and grabbed an arrow."